Crossed Crisis
by Raiu Kusanagi
Summary: Probably one of the first - if not the first - x-overs of its kind. Just read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If you don't know this part, where the hell have you been?  
  
  
" " Speech  
Thoughts  
* * Emphasis  
| | Computer/radio/telephone vocalization  
  
  
Crossed Crisis  
Chapter 1  
By Raiu Kusanagi  
  
  


* * *

  


"Linna, have you heard about that girl Sylvie?" A petite redhead about nineteen asked the woman sitting next to her. 

"Yeah, I heard about her." The raven-haired woman answered. "She's the girl Priss is hanging around with, right?" 

"Yeah! She comes into town just the other day, and in no time she's causin' a sensation. She's so gorgeous." 

"Oh that's just because everyone finds a fresh face exotic. I mean, she can't hold a candle to me, right?" 

The redhead gave her companion a quick longsuffering glance before the two started chuckling over it. They turned at the sound of approaching footsteps to see Priss, lead singer of the Replicants, walking toward them, a towel draped over her shoulders. 

"Hi," she called out, lifting the soda can she was holding as if toasting them. 

"Priss, oh you were your usual, terrific self tonight!" the redhead exclaimed as she ran up and hugged Priss. 

"Thanks, Nene," Priss replied. 

"How 'bout I quit my job at Phoebe's and become your manager." Linna stated, walking up to the pair. "If you wanna sign with DMI, now's the time." 

"Oh, there you go again." Nene commented, then started whispering in Priss' ear, holding her hand up as if to hide her stage whisper. "Hey, Priss, did you know that Linna says her latest boyfriend is one of DMI's directors?" 

Linna merely smiled and giggled a bit as the other two women gave her an annoyed glare. 

"I don't wanna know." Priss said. "I've had it with you crying your heart out." 

"Oh, you're mean. It's serious this time!" Linna growled, ignoring the sound of a door opening. "And I deserve happiness too, y'know." 

"Being happy with Linna, what an awful thought," Nene sniped. 

"Ya got that right!" Priss agreed. 

"Ooh, you're both picking on me." 

"You look like you're having fun." An amused female voice commented. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." 

The three turned toward the source of the voice to see a beautiful woman standing before them. She was about Priss' height with dark brown hair cut short in the front and left long to hang down to her shoulder blades in the back that framed a softly featured face with exotic golden eyes. The woman wore a form-fitting white and blue biker suit. 

"You're late, Sylvie." Priss said. "I already finished my last set." 

"Oh. I'm sorry. My brother and I had a little business." Sylvie seemed to notice Linna and Nene for the first time. "Hey, these are your friends, right?" 

"Yeah," Priss answered, putting her arms around their shoulders, "Nene and Linna." 

"You're Sylvie, right?" Linna asked. "Priss has been telling us all about you. About what a terrific biker you are. And she's right; you're so beautiful, I bet you've got tons of boyfriends." 

Nene glanced up at Linna, then looked back at Sylvie and frowned slightly. 

"You're too kind. Pleased to meet you." 

Sylvie extended her hand for a handshake. 

"Same here," Linna replied, grabbing Sylvie's hand. 

Nene laughed a bit and put her hand over Linna and Sylvie's. 

"Okay." Priss added, mimicking Nene's gesture. "Now that we're all here, howzabout we get going?" 

"Hey, Sylvie! Sorry I'm late. Took longer than I thought." 

The four women looked up to see a handsome young man about eighteen standing before them, a black motorcycle helmet held under one arm, his other hand stuffed in a pocket. He stood about five-foot-ten with a mop of shaggy black hair held out of his face by a wide, white headband. A pair of sunglasses similar to those Leon McNichol wore hid his eyes from view. He wore a blue jacket with white sleeves over a white T-shirt several sizes too big for him, a pair of light blue-gray cargo pants, and blue-green sneakers. 

"Max!" Sylvie exclaimed, pulling her hand from the other three. "I didn't think you'd make it! I want you to meet Priss and her friends! Priss, this is my brother Max." 

"Nice ta meet ya." Max stated, looking at Priss, then smirked. "So you're Sylvie's girlfriend, eh? Try not to keep her out too late." 

Linna and Nene's eyes widened in surprise, while Priss started sputtering denials. 

"MAX!" Sylvie snapped, blushing. "I've told you before! It's not like that!" 

"Uh huh, suuuure." Max grinned mischievously. "Then why are you blushing?" 

Sylvie growled at the teen and slapped him in the back of the head, making Linna, Nene, and Priss chuckle in amusement. 

"OW! Hey!" Max snapped, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "It was just a joke!" 

"You shouldn't joke about things like that, Max," Sylvie calmly replied. 

"So?" Max asked, looking at Sylvie, then smiled at Linna and Nene. "And who might these lovely ladies be?" 

"Oh, I'm sorry, you two." Sylvie gasped. "Max, I'd also like you to meet Linna Yamazaki and Nene Romanova." 

"A pleasure to meet you both," Max stated, bowing at the waist to hide the nervous tick that developed on his right eyebrow and the clenching of his fists. 

"You three wouldn't happen to know a woman named Sylia Stingray, would you?" The young man continued, straightening. 

The three Knight Sabers jerked slightly in surprise. 

"No, not to my knowledge." Linna lied. "How about you two?" 

When Nene and Priss both answered in the negative, Max's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly and his eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. 

"Why do you ask?" Priss asked. 

"No reason." Max replied casually, then pulled his helmet on. "Unfortunately, I can't stay. See you later, ladies." 

Without another word, Max turned and walked out of the bar, leaving the four women speechless. Priss was the first to recover. 

"That was sudden." Priss snorted. "Is he always this rude, Sylvie?" 

"Huh? Oh... no, he isn't. I wonder what's wrong?" 

"Well, anyway, are we still on for later?" 

"Sure," Sylvie smiled. 

"Speaking of which..." Nene added.   
  
* * * *  
  
-The next day-  
  


|Tell me, why was this Boomer banned?| Nene's image asked over a video phone. 

"They were initially designed to be Sexaroid toys, but they were augmented so they could synchronize to advanced weapons systems." A woman with short, blue-black hair answered on the other end, then added with a light blush, "That caused problems." 

|A sexaroid?| Nene gasped, then started grinning like an idiot. |So do they really exist?| 

"I thought you weren't interested in perverted things like that," Sylia Stingray asked, pressing her index finger against the screen and directly over Nene's face. 

|Why not?| Nene whined. |Hey, I wonder if they're as pretty as this girl I met yesterday.| 

"Who?" Sylia asked, curious. 

|Oh, this biker friend of Priss'. Her name is Sylvie and she's really hot, oh, with a body you could just die for! And Priss get's along with her unusually well.| 

"I see. Sounds like someone I'd like to meet. All right, inform me if anything else happens." 

|Okay.| Nene replied, then her eyes widened in surprise. |Oh! I almost forgot! There's this guy I met yesterday -| 

"Nene." Sylia interrupted. "Please tell me this is important." 

|You bet! Anyway, Sylvie introduced us to this guy, Max, saying he's her brother. They don't look a thing alike! Then after Priss gave him our names, he got real tense, like he was afraid of us or something! And get this: he asked for you by name, as if he *knew* we know you!| 

"Oh? Did you find out why he asked or how he knows me?" 

|No! He just brushed Priss off when she asked and then left like he couldn't get out of there fast enough.| 

"Hmmm... did you get anymore information on him?" 

|Nope. Sorry. Come to think of it, I don't know that much about Sylvie either.| 

"Well, keep looking. And keep me informed." 

|Okay!| Nene replied, then ended the call. 

Sylia stood up and walked over to the window-wall and looked out at the city. 

A super weapon and a 33-S. When will they learn? As you sow so shall you reap. The question now is, what is his lady friend after? And who is this Max person?  
  
* * * *  
  
-That afternoon-  
  


"Come on, let's go." Priss stated, revving her bike. "I've got a rehearsal at the club." 

"Oh, thanks, but I'm going to stay here a little longer," Sylvie stated, turning toward her friend. 

"Hm?" 

"I'm free. I'm free now. Free." 

"Free?" 

"Right," Sylvie replied, winking. 

Priss stared at her blankly for a moment before speaking. 

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll catch you later." Priss stated, starting to take off. "Call me!" 

"I will," Sylvie replied, waving. 

Sylvie stood there, watching Priss shrink into the distance until a roar similar to the whining hum one generally associates with a jet engine caught her attention. She turned around to see Max approaching on Stingray, his motorcycle. Actually, tank would be a better description for the crimson bike. At 2.5 meters in length, though it was designed with only one rider in mind, it could somewhat comfortably seat two extra people and actually had a time or two. It was covered with enough armor plating to withstand a rocket explosion at point blank range with barely a scratch on it. 

The prototype fusion turbine engine easily compensated for the extra weight the armor created and still cranked out enough horsepower to outpace almost every vehicle ever made. A pair of air scoops hidden underneath the nose of the bike on either side of the front wheel kept the engine from overheating. The rear fenders were specially designed to protect the legs of the rider and the control handles were placed in a pair of recesses on the sides of the instrument panel that covered the driver's arms halfway up their forearms. A pair of spoiler fins stuck up at an angle from the rear of the bike. 

The front of the bike was fairly wedge-shaped when viewed from the side, but rounded, with the nose being the most heavily armored part of the motorcycle, allowing the bike to punch through steel walls up to a foot thick once it once it reached its top speed of around 423 kph. When the bike reached 200kph, the plating would extend from the recessed control sticks to cover the driver's entire forearm as the tinted, armored windshield raised up and extended as well, further protecting the driver. 

The bike came to an abrupt stop a few meters away from Sylvie and Max popped the kickstand down, pulling off his helmet in the process. 

"Going out again tonight?" The teen asked. 

"Do I have a choice?" Sylvie asked with biting sarcasm. 

"You know I hate this as much as you do, maybe even more." Max sighed. "But actually, yes you do have a choice." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I was doing some hacking earlier and located the data disk that has the info we need. However, I need some time to plan the raid and Anri needs more blood if she's going to last long enough for us to get the disk and perform the procedures necessary." 

"So it's almost over." Sylvie sighed, smiling. "I'm glad." 

"So am I." Max said, pulling his helmet back on. "I'll see you at home." 

With that, Max peeled out and spun around, heading back in the same direction he came from, the Stingray roaring even louder than before.  
  
* * * *  
  
-Later that night-  
  


"Don't do it anymore." A green-haired girl about Max's age wearing only a pair of panties and a loose tank top said, looking up at Sylvie from where she sat on one of the two beds in the small apartment. "It's too dangerous now. If you're caught, you'll be eliminated! You've already done enough for me. You've got to live for your own sake from now on." 

Sylvie, clad in a black sports bra and panties, reached over and grabbed the girl's hand. 

"That's not true, Anri. Right now, this is the only way we have of maintaining your systems. But, Max says he knows the location of the data disk. Once we have that, we won't have to do this anymore. Soon... yes, in just a little while, we'll be able to live completely under our own power." 

Anri's teal eyes sparkled in joy as she smiled at Sylvie. 

"So where's the data disk located?" Sylvie asked, turning toward Max. 

"At the GENOM Production Control Center." Max replied from where he was leaning against the wall in a corner. "We'll hit it tonight at midnight. Almost nobody will be there then. I'll run interference while you grab the disk." 

"That's your plan?" A green-eyed, red-haired woman about Sylvie's height asked incredulously. "And how long did you have to come up with this?" 

"That's just the basic idea, Meg, not the full plan. I'm still working out the details. Besides, I'm no tactician. The only combat experience I have is that fight with the Doberman, remember?" 

"So why are you the one to come up with a plan and not one of us?" Another woman, this one blond with brown eyes, asked. 

"Because I'm the only one here who knows the floor plan, employee schedules, and guard patrols like the back of their hand. I downloaded all the relevant data into my memory. I can guide any of you through the building while keeping an eye out for Boomer patrols, the ADP, and the N-Police. Besides, Lou, you and Meg still owe me for saving your asses from that Doberman. So just go with it, okay?" 

Meg and Lou grumbled a reluctant acceptance and sat down on their bed. 

"Oh, Max." Sylvie stated, remembering something. "I forgot to ask you earlier... but why'd you act like you did when you met Linna and Nene? And who's this Sylia Stingray you asked them about?" 

"I don't believe in coincidence." Max answered "I never have and never will. They lied about not knowing Sylia. For those four people to know each other - and lie to cover for each other - there's no way they couldn't be who I think they are. As for who I think they are... well, the walls have ears and I'm not about to risk giving that away. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but if I do, anybody listening will be able to endanger all four of their lives far too easily." 

Max glanced up at the clock on the wall and pushed off the wall behind him. 

"Look, there's something I need to get for our raid tonight. I'll be back in an hour. Half an hour after that, we'll start our raid." 

Without waiting for a reply, Max walked out the door.  
  
* * * *  
  
-One hour, 45 minutes later-  
  


"Max!" Sylvie exclaimed, running toward him and her bike. "Two 55-C's -" 

"Go." Max cut her off. "I'll take care of them." 

Sylvie nodded and hopped on her bike, driving off at near-breakneck speed as the two Boomer's burst through the wall underneath the window Sylvie jumped through. Without warning, the left Boomer's head exploded only a second before its body disappeared in a small explosion. The other Boomer stood up from where it'd been thrown to the ground and looked around for the attacker. A sharp whistle caught its attention as its arms were torn free from its body a couple of small, high-speed projectiles. 

The 55-C looked over to see Max sitting on the Stingray, holding an oversized handgun. A gun similar to the MG-442 that the Hurricane model Motorslaves used but with a 76mm cylindrical barrel and a magazine that seemed to make up the rest of the gun was attached to the right side of the Stingray, a small wisp of smoke rising from the end of the barrel. 

"Hey, asshole. Lookin' for me?" 

With that, Max leveled the customized .454 Magnum Auto at the Boomer's head and fired as the 55-C opened its mouth. With a single press of the trigger, the Boomer's head disappeared as if it had never existed. As the decapitated and disarmed Boomer charged toward Max in a suicidal rush, Max smirked, reached in to one of the control handles on his bike and pressed a button. The gun on the side of the Stingray bucked slightly as a miniature missile shot out of the barrel, spiraling toward the Boomer, a trail of smoke marking its passage. The missile struck the charging Boomer directly in the chest, shredding the combat robot in the resulting explosion. 

"Heh." Max chuckled, sliding his gun back into its shoulder holster. "Too easy." 

|WARNING.| The Stingray's onboard computer droned. |TEN TARGETS INCOMING. DESIGNATE: TEN 12-B CLASS. ETA: 10 SECONDS.| 

Had Max not been wearing his shades, an observer would have seen his eyes shrink to pin pricks. 

"Oh, *shit*." 

Without another word, Max revved the Stingray and peeled out, heading in the same direction Sylvie drove off in. Unseen by him or anyone else, Largo stepped out of the shadows to watch him leave, a small frown on his face. 

That boy is becoming quite troublesome.  
  
* * * *  
  


The distinctive sound of the Stingray caught Sylvie's attention, making her look over to the side, where she saw Max signalling her to pull over. She nodded silently, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear her over the roar of his bike. Moments later, the two of them were sitting on their motorcycles on the side of the road. 

"That was a bit close, eh?" 

"Definitely," Sylvie agreed. 

"We can't stay long. Ten 12-B Boomers are probably on my tail. We'll stand better chances if we split up. The Boomers will probably follow me, so you hang on to the data disk. Once you get back to the apartment, login to my computer with username MStingray, password Voomer. Once you're in, insert the data disk, plug in the electrode contacts to the headset jack, and place the contacts against Anri's temples. A download prompt should appear, asking what you want to download. Select 'Data Disk Only', wait until the computer says 'download complete', then take the contacts off Anri and logout. Got all that?" 

"Yeah." Sylvie answered, nodding. "But what will happen when I tell it to download?" 

"It will download the data on the disk directly into Anri's brain. Her systems should automatically begin putting the data to use. That's why it's important to remove the contacts as soon as possible once the download is complete. You don't want to risk downloading anything extra. I don't know what the side effects might be for her, but the shouldn't be too bad. Probably just a killer headache or minor disorientation. Shouldn't last too long, either. I've tried it on myself a few times already and nothing serious has happened. Now go. I'll try to make sure the Boomers don't follow you." 

"All right, but you be careful." 

"Don't worry." Max grinned. "I don't plan on dying tonight. Hurry up unless you want the Boomers to catch you." 

Sylvie nodded her thanks and drove off, leaving Max behind to deal with the Boomers. 

|WARNING.| The Stingray's onboard computer droned. |TEN TARGETS INCOMING. DESIGNATE: TEN 12-B CLASS BOOMERS. ETA: 30 SECONDS.| 

"Here we go." 

Exactly thirty seconds later, ten Bu-12B Boomers came into view, skimming along the ground like a cloud of death. Max turned the Stingray to face them and fired off three missile as soon as he had target locks on the front trio. A trio of explosions lit up the night sky briefly, scattering the remaining Boomers. Before they could fully reorient themselves, Max was tearing off in the other direction, toward the Canyons.  
  
* * * *  
  


Anri, Meg, and Lou jumped in surprise when the door to their apartment slammed open and Sylvie came running in. She made a beeline for Max's futon and grabbed his laptop off the top of it, ignoring everyone's questions. Sitting down, she clicked on the device, logged in, and inserted the data disk. After a moment of searching, she found the electrode contacts and slid the plug into the headset jack on the side of the computer. 

"Anri, come here." 

Anri did as she was told, gazing at Sylvie quizically. Her confusion only increased when Sylvie placed the contacts against her temples. Just as Max said, the download prompt appeared on the screen. 

"Now hold still. Max said this might hurt a bit." 

Sylvie arrowed down to "Data Disk Only" and hit Enter. 

"Sylvie, what are you -" Anri cut herself off with a gasp as data began directly downloading into her brain. 

After nearly a minute in which Anri sat frozen, the computer chimed and a small window popped up on the screen stating that the download was complete. Sylvie reached up to Anri's temples and pulled off the contacts, then logged out of the computer, removing the disk as she did so. When she looked at Anri, she saw that the girl was still frozen. 

"Anri? Are you okay? Did it work?" 

Anri shook her head, snapping out of her trance, only to hold her head in pain. 

"Ow... ow... ow... that hurt." Anri groaned. "What did you do?" 

"Well... if it happened like Max said it would, the entire contents of the data disk were just downloaded into your memory. Max also said your systems should start using the data to remove your problem." 

"So... I'm cured?" Anri asked hopefully, the pain in her head already fading quickly. 

"Yes, Anri." Sylvie replied, smiling warmly. "You're free. I have to go get Max. I think he might try activating the D.D." 

"What?!" the other three women exclaimed. 

"Why would he do that?!" Meg asked incredulously. "He doesn't know how to pilot that thing!" 

"He said there were ten Bu-12B's chasing him. Even with the gun he added to the Stingray, he won't be able to take on all ten without the Battlemover." 

"We'll wait here for you," Meg said. 

"Yeah, we don't have bikes, remember?" Lou added. "Besides, yours can only carry one person." 

"All right, I'll see you later," Sylvie stated, leaving the apartment.  
  
* * * *  
  


"Shit!" Max swore, jerking on the controls of the Battlemover to dodge a burst of bazooka shots from the remaining five 12-B Boomers. "Don't these bastards know when to die?!" 

Max's head was slammed into the back of the seat when a couple of shots tagged the D.D.'s shoulder. 

"Ah, screw this!" Max snarled, switching over to humanoid mode. "The beast form sucks." 

The Battlemover stood upright and slammed a fist into the chest of one Bu- 12B, crushing its body before it could react. Max spun the mecha around, backhanding another Boomer into oblivion. Leaping to avoid another set of bazooka and gatlin gun blasts, Max waited for a target lock on the closest one and hosed it down with gatling gun fire. The teen then unloaded a salvo of grenades at the next Boomer, blowing it out of the sky in a fiery explosion. Without waiting for the final Boomer to make a move, Max charged it as soon as he landed and caught its head in one of the Battlemover's claws. 

"Heh. Sucks to be you, don't it?" 

Before the Boomer could react, Max crushed its head, then tore its body in half a moment later. Setting the Battlemover to standby mode, Max winced and reached around to his right side, where blood flowed freely from a ragged wound in his side. 

"Lucky bastards. Tagged me... before I got to the... Battlemover. Hopefully it won't take much longer to heal..." Max grunted, fighting to remain conscious, "if I can just stay... conscious..." 

Just as Max was about to open the cockpit of the Battlemover, the mecha came alive again, all of the screens lighting up with tactical data. On the main screen, Max could see an ADP K-12 suit standing ten to fifteen meters away. 

"Okay, hold it right there! I'm not going to do anything, just come out of there." 

"Look, buddy, I'd love to right now," Max replied through the comm channel, "but this damn thing just went on auto-pilot. I'm trying to GYAAAAH!!" 

The world went white for Max as the shackles snapped into place around his wrists, ankles, and neck and the J-1 computer synchronized with him. Inspector Leon McNichol gasped in surprise as the transmission cut off and the Battlemover surged forward, slamming him through a wall. Daley's words came back to haunt him as he landed against the wall of the canyon, the K-12's "helmet" flying off, torn free by the impact. 

"Don't underestimate it, Leon. It's a next generation Battlemover, equipped with a J-1 auto-control system and highly intelligent onboard automation. Heh, heh. And to top it all off, those idiots installed a nuclear detonate destruct device." 

Leon struggled to stand up as the D.D. closed in on him. Once it was close enough, the Battlemover reared back and slammed its right fist into the lower torso of the K-12, crushing the armor. The ADP Inspector pulled himself upright as best he could and pulled back the K-12's fist to punch the Battlemover. The Battlemover wasn't of the same opinion and pushed its fist forward, nearly caving in Leon's ribcage, causing him to spit up a mouthful of blood. 

Officer McNichol's head snapped up a second later and he let loose with a right hook to the larger mecha's head, only to stare in shock when it caught the K-12's arm with its free hand and tore the limb off. The D.D.'s eyes glowed yellow as a manipulator claw shot out of the left intake vent on the Battlemover's chest and latched onto Leon's throat. 

Unless I put this thing down quick, the city'll go up in smoke. I've got to... 

Before Leon could continue that thought, the gatling gun took aim at his head, the barrels spinning in preparation. Only seconds before the gun was about to fire, a blast of energy tore through the manipulator claw's cable, distracting the Battlemover. 

"Over there, is it?" Leon managed to gasp out as the Battlemover dropped him, allowing him to slip into unconsciousness. 

The Battlemover turned to look up at the top of the canyon to see the Knight Sabers standing there just as Max woke up. 

Ugh... damn, that hurt. Wait a sec... this thing is on auto-pilot... oh, SHIT! Max was about to start panicking when he saw the Knight Sabers on the main screen. Well... I'll be damned. Maybe... 

While Max was planning his next move, the Knight Sabers had landed and surrounded the Battlemover. 

Hmmm. I doubt anything else would work. Oh, well. Here goes nothing. 

Max sent a signal to open the cockpit and smirked when he saw Priss' hardsuit step back in surprise. 

"Hey, Priss. Been a while, eh? You too, Nene. Where's Linn at?" 

The three indicated Knight Sabers gasped in surprise, but managed to recover quickly. 

"Max?!" Priss exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!" 

Damn glad I ditched my helmet when Stingray landed. 

"The what, how, and why don't matter right now. What does matter is that this thing is on auto-pilot right now and I can't regain control. It's locked me out. The designers added a goddamn micro-neutron bomb to this thing. When the power runs out, MegaTokyo becomes an irradiated crater." 

"My god..." Nene gasped. "He's telling the truth! And there's only 300 seconds of power left!" 

"Yeah, and I can't get enough leverage to tear free of these damn shackles. The only way you can shut it down now is to kill me." 

"MAX!" 

The Battlemover and Knight Sabers turned toward the source of the voice to see a woman riding a blue motorcycle toward them. 

"SYLVIE?!" Max shouted. "What the hell - never mind! Just get the bloody hell out of here before the Battlemover labels you as a target! HURRY!!" 

"Sylvie?!" Priss gasped. 

"Max!" Sylvie exlcaimed as she slowed the motorcycle to a stop a few meters away from Priss. "What -" 

"DAMMIT! The D.D. has gone on auto-pilot and synched with me! Now get out of - oh shit!" 

As Max was yelling at Sylvie, the Battlemover's targeting systems locked onto her. The gatling gun on the D.D.'s left shoulder swiveled down to aim at the motorcycle while the hatches on the grenade launcher flipped open. 

"STINGRAY!" Max shouted, catching Sylia's attention. "PROTECT SYLVIE! FULL COUNTERMEASURES!" 

Sylia turned from looking at Sylvie toward Max to see him looking at something else entirely. A large red shape burst from under a pile of debris and shot toward the Sexaroid. 

As it approached, the Stingray activated its ECM system, jamming the Battlemover's targeting system and Nene's scanners. The motorcycle popped a wheelie, somehow managing to halt its forward movement at the right moment and remain upright, placing itself between the D.D. and the Sexaroid just as the giant mecha fired. The rapid-fire bullets clanged off the armored bike as the grenades fell to the ground, their thrusters and detonators disabled by the ECM field. 

Seeing that its ranged weaponry would be useless, the Battlemover charged at Priss, pulling its right arm back. 

"LOOK OUT!" five voices shouted at Priss. 

The hardsuited woman turned just in time to see the D.D.'s fist coming toward her. The fist slammed into her hard enough to shatter her helmet's visor and throw her into a pile of rubble. As Max glanced at Sylvie to see her driving away to a safer distance with the Stingray following her, Linna was the first to react, leaping toward the Battlemover and whipping her head forward, the Ribbon Cutters reacting her her movement and slicing through the gatling gun at its base. Just as she fired her jumpjets to get away from the monstrous robot, its arm lashed out, catching her by the ankle. With almost negligible effort, Linna was thrown into one of the canyon walls. 

As she struggled to get up, Sylia landed in front of the Battlemover, extended her right Laser Sword, and stabbed the weapon into the mecha's chest. The blade cut through the main screen effortlessly only to stop a few inches from Max's chest as the D.D. reared back and grabbed Sylia's arm, crushing the manipulator hand and very nearly doing the same to Sylia's real hand. The monstrosity lifted Sylia off the ground, causing her to scream in pain, and tossed her into Linna, who'd just managed to stand up and turn around in time to see Sylia about to slam into her. 

Once it saw that the two Knight Sabers wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon, the Battlemover turned toward Nene. Max went pale when he saw the multiple targeting cursors lock onto the blue and pink hardsuit on the side screens. 

Dear God... please no... not again. Max silently prayed. Don't make me go through this again. 

Max began visibly trembling as the grenade launcher popped open and the Battlemover pulled its right arm back to punch at Nene. The redheaded Knight Saber shrieked in fear when she saw the pale red robot towering over her, its weapons starting to activate. Without warning, an explosion tore the right arm and shoulder from the Battlemover. The mecha was nearly knocked over, but quickly regained its balance and turned so that Max could see Sylvie sitting on the Stingray, smoke rising from the barrel of the missile launcher. 

"Damn it!" Max swore. "Even if you disable it, the bomb will still go off when the power runs out in forty-five seconds!" 

Before the Battlemover could make a decision whether or not to attack its previous pilot, its left arm was torn off at the elbow by some sort of projectile. Turning around, the Battlemover saw Priss standing approximately fifty meters away in her Motorslave, the MG-442 gun still smoking, her visor raised to allow her to see. Deprived of its main weapons, the D.D. opted for a suicidal charge at its latest attacker. 

"Priss! Do it now!" Max had to all but roar to be heard over the charging machine. "While there's still time!" 

Priss leveled the gun at Max, tears streaming down her face. The barrel wavered slightly as memories assaulted the red-eyed singer; memories of what Sylvie had said about Max. 

"He may only be adopted, but to me, that doesn't matter. He's still my brother." 

The mecha was only thirty meters away. Priss blocked out the sounds of everyone shouting; Max telling her to shoot, Sylvie telling her not to, Nene screaming at her to just DO something. 

"He and I are as close as twins. He's got his rough edges, but he's got a heart of gold when it counts." 

Twenty meters. 

"He saved my life once during a rogue Boomer incident. Max distracted the Boomer long enough for me to escape, then barely managed to get away himself. He nearly died that day, but it's thanks to him that I'm here today." 

When the Battlemover was only fifteen meters away, Priss made her decision. 

"Forgive me, Sylvie," Priss choked out, pulling the trigger.  
  
* * * *  
TBC...  
* * * *  
  
Author's notes:  
  


Don't ya just hate cliffhangers? C&C is welcome, flamers will be used as target practice by the Knight Sabers. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Please tell me you know this part already. If not: the characters ain't mine; they belong to whoever created them, I forget the names.  
  
  
" " Speech  
Thoughts  
* * Action sounds or emphasis  
| | Computer/radio/telephone vocalization  
  
  
Crossed Crisis  
Chapter 2  
By Raiu Kusanagi  
  
  


* * *

  


"Forgive me, Sylvie," Priss choked out, pulling the trigger. 

A quick burst of three bullets fired from the gun; two hitting Max in the left side of his chest and punching through, the third going wide and hitting one of the support struts of the cockpit hatch. As nearly half of his chest was destroyed, Max coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. He flashed Priss a weak smile as the Battlemover stumbled to a halt and fell to the ground. The damaged support strut collapsed, making the cockpit hatch fall back into place and forming a makeshift coffin for the teen. Priss let herself fall out of the Motorslave and slumped to the ground. 

"Max!!" Sylvie's voice cried out. 

Priss looked up to see Sylvie running toward the Battlemover as Nene helped Linna and Sylia stand up. The singer watched blankly as Sylvie tried unsuccessfully to pry the Battlemover's cockpit open while her fellow Knight Sabers moved to stand beside her. 

"You did what you had to, Priss," Sylia stated, placing a hand on the singer's shoulder. 

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Priss hissed, unable to do more than watch helplessly as her best friend grieved. 

They remained like that for nearly a minute before Sylia ordered the Knight Sabers to depart. Priss wearily pushed herself off the ground and stared at the woman kneeling beside the downed Battlemover, trying to decide whether to leave with the other Knight Sabers or risk being identified by the AD Police when they arrived. The sound of Sylvie's sobs made the decision for her. Without looking back at her fellow vigilantes, she walked forward, intent on at least trying to comfort her friend. 

A loud clang stopped her in her tracks and caught the attention of the other four women. 

What the...? Priss mentally asked. That sounded like it came from... no way... 

A second clang followed only seconds after the first, followed even quicker by a third, then a fourth, until a steady rythim took form of about two clangs a second. The cockpit hatch of the Battlemover had shuddered slightly at the first few hits, and was now visibly shaking, making Sylvie back away in fear. Their caution was rewarded when the cockpit hatch tore free of the Battlemover's body and slammed into the ground where she'd just been standing. 

Moments later, a figure could be seen moving around in the dust cloud that had been kicked up. It moved forward as the cloud settled, gradually revealing itself. 

"Priss, the next time I tell you to shoot me, remind me to specify *exactly* where." 

A series of hacking coughs followed that statement as the women got a good look at the figure standing there. Max held his right arm across his chest, clutching the wound as if to stop the bleeding. The wound was gruesome; almost the entire left side of Max's chest was missing, with blood flowing from the wound and his mouth. Blood already coated most of his left side and was trying admirably to do the same to his right arm. The shackles that had held Max in place were still clamped onto his arms and legs, the cables torn and shredded. The shackle that had been around his neck was missing, although there was an odd black mark around his neck. 

"Max?!" Sylvie cried, starting to run toward him. 

"Stay back!" Max snapped, his mouth twisting into a snarl. "I'll absorb anything - *cough* - anything organic or robotic uncontrollably until - *hack* - this wound is healed." 

"What in the world...?" 

Priss looked to the side to see Linna standing beside her, Sylia and Nene on the dancer's other side. The raven-haired woman had her visor up and was staring at Max in shock. Max noticed their stares and smirked. 

"Yes, I'm a - *hack* - a Boomer. And it takes - *cough, hack* - more than this to permenantly kill me. Good thing - *hack, hack* - my vitals dropped to zero long enough for the - *cough, cough* - the Battlemover to shut down. Fuck, this is gonna hurt." 

Without warning, Max dropped to one knee beside the Battlemover's head and started tearing chunks of metal and wiring from it with his right hand. The women gasped in shock and nearly puked when he stuffed the components into the wound. Max's jaw visibly clenched, the muscles in his neck tightening, as he strained to keep from screaming in pain. Once the wound was completely filled, the shackles on Max's arms liquified and flowed into his sleeves, disappearing, as he tore the other shackles from his feet and the black mark around his neck faded. Max clutched at the wounded side of his chest and coughed up more blood when a wet squishing sound could be heard coming from his chest. The Knight Sabers and Sexaroids could only watch in shock as the teen shakily rose to his feet and turned toward the Battlemover. The women could plainly see the hole in the back of his jacket and shirt, but Max's back was unblemished, as if he'd never been wounded. 

"Stingray, return," Max stated. 

Just as Sylia was about to ask what he meant, the Stingray came tearing up and slowed to a stop next to Max. Max all but fell onto the motorcycle and slumped over the instrument panel. 

"Stingray, auto-pilot. Let's... go home. See ya... there... Sylvie." 

|NEGATIVE.| The Knight Sabers were surprised to hear a voice speak from the motorcycle. |INVALID COMMAND. QUANTUM SHIFT IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS TIME.| 

"Quantum shift...?" Sylia mused, then started walking toward the bike. 

"Smartass..." Max sighed. "Meant... home here..." 

|COMMAND CORRECTION ACKNOLEDGED. ENGAGING AUTO-PILOT.| 

"Wait," Sylia ordered, stopping in front of the bike. 

"What... is it?" Max hissed. 

"You have some explaining to do. Like -" 

"Fine. Stingray... new command: follow... Knight Sabers." 

|COMMAND CHANGE ACKNOWLEDGED. PREPARING TO ENGAGE AUTO-PILOT.| 

Before Sylia could say anything, Max passed out. Sylvie stepped forward and started to get on the bike behind Max when Sylia stopped her. 

"This doesn't concern you, ma'am." 

Had her helmet not been on, Sylia would have been on the receiving end of a very painful slap. As it was, she was only barely rattled from the impact. 

"The hell it doesn't!" Sylvie snapped, ignoring the pain in her hand. "He's my brother!" 

Sylia was about to protest when Priss cut her off. 

"We don't have time to argue, Sylia. The ADP will be here soon." 

Sylia frowned at Priss using her name so openly, but nodded anyway, cutting off her reply at the faint sound of approaching ADP choppers. 

"Let's go, then."  
  
* * * *  
  


The sound of voices was the first thing Max heard as he slowly regained consciousness. He felt that he was laying on something soft. 

Probably a futon or really hard bed. Wonder if breakfast is ready. 

The young man slowly sat up, holding his head and groaning in pain as he felt what seemed like several railgun needles get jammed into his head. 

"Crap, this hurts. Hey girls, we got any painkillers handy?" 

When nobody answered, Max started to open his eyes only to snap them shut when he realized he didn't have his sunglasses on. He pushed the pain aside and started feeling around for them. 

Hmmm. That's odd. I don't remember having any sheets. Eh, Sylvie or Anri musta given me one. Dunno why. Told 'em before I don't need one. 

When he didn't feel them anywhere, Max turned to his left and leaned back against the wall behind him. 

"Real cute, ladies." Max sighed. "Where'd you hide my shades?" 

"You'll get them back after you answer our questions," an unfamiliar voice answered. 

"Huh? What the?!" 

Max's eyes reflexively snapped open just long enough for him to glance at the room and realize his eyes were open before he snapped them shut again. With a sinking feeling, the previous night came back to him in a rush, allowing him to make a rough guess of where he was when he saw the room. 

Wait a sec... five women and a guy... ?! 

"Shit, shit, shit! Someone give me my sunglasses, now! Sylvie, please tell me nobody's acting like I made eye contact with them." 

"Everybody seems to be fine, Max," Sylvie answered. 

"I don't see what the big deal is." Priss snorted from her position next to the door. "They're just sunglasses. And it's not that bright in here either, so what's the problem?" 

"It's not the light or a fashion fetish. The problem is what happens when I make eye contact with someone of the opposite gender. Does anyone here - aside from Sylvie, of course - know what can happen if someone makes eye contact with a Sexaroid when their eyes are glowing red?" 

Everyone but Sylia and Sylvie voiced a negative answer; Sylia because she wanted to hear Max's explanation and Sylvie for obvious reasons. 

"Damn." Max sighed. "Makes this a bit longer. When a Sexaroid looks someone in the eyes and their eyes glow red, their 'target' - so to speak - is either knocked unconscious or becomes horny as hell." 

Linna, Nene, and Mackie blushed at this, while Priss merely frowned slightly, wondering why he'd excluded Sylvie from his question. 

"My problem is somewhat similar. When I make eye contact with a guy, instant knockout. If it's a woman," Max shuddered a bit before continuing, "she gets so aroused she'll do anything short of suicide to get me in bed. The last - and only, thank god - time it happened, the woman damn near clawed her way through a steel door before I could knock her out. Now comes the real problem: I can't turn it off. Even though my eyes don't glow, the effect is still on 24- 7. Now that I've explained the problem, would you please give me back my sunglasses?" 

"Very well," Sylia replied, grabbing his sunglasses off the table and tossing them to him. 

Without opening his eyes, Max reached out and plucked the sunglasses out of midair, then slid them on. He smirked when Sylia raised an eyebrow in curiosity. 

"Enhanced combat reflexes and hearing come in handy, Ms. Stingray." 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth and registered, Sylia flinched in surprise, Priss' eyes narrowed, Linna, Nene, & Mackie gasped, while Sylvie merely looked confused. 

"How -" Sylia started to ask before she was cut off. 

"Just who - or what - the hell are you?" Priss snarled angrily. "And just how do you know us?!" 

"In reverse order." Max calmly replied. "With what I know, and your reaction to my mentioning Sylia by name, it was a safe bet who you were. Add to that the willingness to lie for her, and the answer becomes blindingly obvious. Secondly, I'm a Boomer. I guessed that was so bloody obvious after last night that only a blind retard wouldn't figure it out. Apparently I misjudged your intelligence, Miss Asagiri." The teen smirked as Priss gritted her teeth. "As for who I am, I'm Max. Although... considering the looks on your faces, that ain't good enough." 

"Why don't you tell us who you really are," Linna suggested. 

"Alright. I did say I'd explain to you last night, didn't I? Well, here goes. I just hope you're ready for it, 'cause I'm not gonna leave a damn thing out. The name I used to go by is Mackey Stingray." 

"Try again." Sylia interrupted. "My brother is right over there and you mispronounced his name. It's Mackie, not Mackey." 

"So? You just said so yourself: our names are pronounced differently, probably spelled differently, too. A lot of what I'm going to say won't make a damn bit of sense until the end so please don't interrupt." 

When everyone nodded, Max continued. 

"Okay, just to clear up a few things, whenever I use any of your names, just assume I'm talking about someone else with the same name. Got it? Well, it all started in..."  
  
(A.N.: I know this is probably a poor writing habit, but since I don't feel like writing a summary of BGC2040, just assume that's what's given, starting with Nigel's explanation of Mackey's origin in episode 15, then the rest of the series, from episode 6 on.)  
  


"Thankfully, we found her only a couple days later, wandering around in the desert not far from her wasted hardsuit. After that, things went back to normal for a while, though there were far less Rogue Boomer incidents. Nigel and I rebuilt the hardsuits and Motoslave. Well, not long after, I started aging. You have to realize that for almost a decade and a half before that, I hadn't aged a single day. After running a series of tests, we found out that my Core had been altered. 

"Theoretically, I possessed all the powers Galatea did, but nothing I did could bring them out. I was also aging twice as fast as a normal human. After that, everyone started gradually distancing themselves from me. I won't go into detail about what happened in the following three years, but things changed. A lot. 

"About a year and a half after my growth spurt started, it abruptly stopped, leaving me like I am now. Linna came out of the closet. Heh, shocked the hell out of everyone. Sylia and Nigel finally tied the knot. Dear God, that was disturbing. Seeing someone who consistently wears only coveralls, wears his hair in a ragged ponytail, and doesn't shave for days at a time clean shaven, his hair combed and cut short, dressed in a tuxedo. Honestly, I have no bloody clue how Sylia managed to get him to wear one. Priss and Leon broke up a little while after that. 

"Here comes the real killer on that part. Priss got absolutely plastered one night real soon after her break up with Leon and ended up at Linna's house. She'd just had a falling out with a girlfriend that had told her she was only good for a one night stand and was almost as drunk as Priss was. I don't know what they did that night, though I do have a pretty good idea." 

Max leaned his head back, lying it on the bed, and chuckled dryly. Part way through the story, he'd migrated to the floor, leaning against the side of the bed. 

"If Linna coming out of the closet was a shocker, Priss doing the same thing the day after was enough to floor everyone. To my knowledge, they hadn't broken up by the time I left. Anyway, about three years after Galatea was destroyed, Nene's sister, Yuri, came to live with her. That was sorta the straw that broke the camel's back on our already strained relationship. Admittedly, I was to blame for a lot of it. 

"A few months after my growth spurt stopped, I noticed my temper started getting a lot worse. I began avoiding everyone when I could, afraid I'd lose it and blow up at one of them or do something else to totally alienate them. That's also when I started wearing sunglasses; my eyes would glow green like when Galatea was controlling me if I got really angry. The angrier I get, the more they glow. I gradually built up a wall around my emotions, blocking them out in hopes of keeping my temper reined in. 

"Then, after Yuri arrived, all it took was a single snide comment for me to snap and lose control. What I had truly feared happening happened. I went Rogue. Nene was there when it happened. She managed to get Yuri out before she got hurt. Then, Nene, bless her heart, tried to calm me down, but it was too late. Even though I remember every goddamn detail of when I'm Rogue, I somehow managed to block out what happened next. 

"All I remember is that one second, Nene's standing in front of me, trying to calm me down; the next, I'm staring down at my hand. It was covered in blood. Nene was lying on the floor at my feet in a pool of blood, a gaping hole in her chest, her lifeless eyes staring up at me accusingly. Even though all the proof of what happened was right there in front of me, my mind couldn't seem to make the connection, as if refusing to believe what my eyes were telling me. 

"Yuri's scream knocked my brain into gear. With horrifying clarity, I realized what happened. For lack of a better word, I panicked. I ran out of the apartment complex and straight into Priss and Linna. For whatever reason, they'd taken the Motoslave to visit Nene. After I pushed past them and took the Motoslave, everything gets blurry. I don't know how long I ran, but eventually I came across some sort of field test for a new Boomer of some sort. Thing looked like a deep sea drilling Boomer with a lightning rod tied to its back. Stupid fools testing it had it out during a lightning storm for some reason. Well, I still wasn't thinking clearly and drove the Motoslave straight into it just as a lightning bolt hit it. One flash of light later and I'm on Genaros, though I had no friggin' clue at the time. 

"The first person I met there was Sylvie. She can tell you the rest if she wants. I need to get some air. Dredging up all those bad memories has left a bad taste in my mouth. Hope you understand." 

"Hold it," Priss stated, blocking the door as he approached it. 

"What is it?" Max sighed, stopping. 

"You don't actually expect us to believe that bullshit, do you?" 

"Heh." Max chuckled. "I expect you to believe whatever the hell you want to believe, Ms. Asagiri. Now please move out of my way." 

"Not till you've told us the truth, not some chicken-shit fairy tale." 

Max smirked evilly, sending an involuntary chill down Priss' spine. Before she could react, the teen had grabbed her by the throat and lifted her two feet off the ground. 

"I'll say this only once, Ms. Asagiri. Depression fuels my Rogue Syndrome just as easily as anger does. And right now, I'm close enough to going Rogue that if I don't take the time to get some air and calm down, I'll wind up butchering everyone in this room. Do you understand?" 

Priss glared hatefully at Max in response, her face turning red. The singer grabbed Max's fingers to try and pry them off her throat, but her strength was nowhere near a match for his. 

Just what the hell is he?! He's as strong as a 55-C, but he couldn't be! He'd not big enough! And Sylia said his skin was actual skin, not that fake stuff a 55-C has. 

The sound of a small click from a short distance behind his head caught Max's attention, coupled with Priss' strained smirk. Without a word, the teen released the woman, who fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Max turned around to stare down the barrel of a mini-revolver held by Sylia, her face an expressionless mask. Looking past her, Max could see Sylvie staring at him in shock while the other two Knight Sabers and Mackie's glares could have melted steel. 

"Are you alright, Priss?" 

Priss nodded silently, still sucking in air. 

"I would have released her when she answered my question or passed out," Max snapped, starting to lose control of his emotions, "whichever came first. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd rather not black out and find myself in the middle of a bloodbath again, thank you very much." 

Without another word, Max turned around and opened the door to leave. 

"Where are you going?" Sylia asked coldly. 

"The roof. Best place to get some air," Max answered instantly. 

"I'll go with you." Sylia stated, sliding the gun into a pocket. "There are still some questions I'd like answered." 

"Hehehe. Pro'lly be your funeral, lady," Max chuckled oddly, then walked out of the room before anyone could say anything, Sylia following him a moment later. 

The room was silent for several moments as Priss finished catching her breath, then turned to Sylvie. 

"I think there are a few questions you need to answer, Sylvie."  
  
* * * *  
  


On the roof of the building, Sylia watched silently as Max sat cross- legged, his back to her and his arms folded across his chest. The teen had assumed that position and lowered his head almost as soon as they were out the door. She'd tried asking him a question or two, but his reply had been blunt both times. 

"Quiet. I need time and silence or else I'll go Rogue." 

"If you don't shut up right now, I'll allow myself to go Rogue, damnit!" 

Sylia barely suppressed a shiver that threatened to run the length of her spine as she remembered his voice each time he'd spoken. The first time, his voice had been so cold, it could have given glaciers advice. After her second attempted question, his voice had been nearly hysterical with what sounded like an insane giggle near the end. 

"So what did you want to ask me?" 

Sylia jerked in surprise and looked up slightly to see Max standing before her, his face an expressionless mask. 

"That was certainly quick," Sylia commented. 

"Practice." Max smirked ruefully. "Way, way too much practice for my liking. What about those questions you wanted answered?" 

"Oh, yes. First off, last night your motorcycle -" 

"Stingray." 

"What?" Sylia blinked in surprise. 

"His name is Stingray. Chalk it up to sentimentality, nostalgia, whatever. But call him by his name." 

"Very well. Last night, Stingray mentioned something about a quantum shift being impossible. I was hoping you could clarify that a bit." 

Max stepped up beside her and leaned against the wall near the door, sighing. 

"I'm not too sure on all this myself, but when I was transported to Genaros, Stingray detected a large cloud of quantum particles floating around us. Based on that, I've come up with a rough theory of what happened. I think the Boomer I rammed with Stingray was being used in some sort of quantum physics experiment, probably to create some sort of portal to who-knows-where. 

"Judging by the weather conditions at the time, I'm also assuming that they needed a huge surge of electricity to power it, hence the lightning pole. What most likely happened what that, somehow, Stingray's ECM and ECCM fields expanded when I ran into the Boomer, which also happened to be at the exact moment the lightning bolt hit it. 

"I may not know much about quantum physics in general, but I read enough here and there to know that I'm insanely lucky to be alive, much less in one piece. Anyway, calculate all those factors in, and somehow you'll come up with me being shot from my world to this one; in a space station in geosynch orbit, no less." 

"That is easily one of the strangest things I've ever heard." Sylia stated after a few moments of silence. "But I prefer to keep an open mind. I've studied enough about quantum physics to know that something like what you think happened isn't impossible, just extremely improbable. Plus you sounded sincere enough during both explanations, so I've no real reason to doubt you. For now." 

"But you still don't trust me, right?" 

Sylia stepped away from the wall and turned to face Max, who raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

"No, I don't. And that also brings me to my next question. Since you know who we are - and have known for some time, it seems - what do you plan to do with that knowledge?" 

"If you're wondering whether or not I'll reveal your identities to the public, why would I? There's no gain in it for me, since I don't consider you enemies, plus I'd have to give some evidence, which I don't have. Also, my own identity would be called into question. I have no indentification for this time period, no history, no family, nothing. People would be a bit suspicious if some unknown vagabond shows up spouting what would seem like utter nonsense about the Knight Sabers." 

When Sylia's response to his statement was to merely continue staring at him, Max sighed. 

"Alright." Max said, placing his right hand over his heart. "I swear on my life that I will not reveal any of your identities to anyone that does not already have hard, clear, irrevocable evidence about who you really are." 

Sylia's lips twitched slightly, as if trying to become a smile. 

"Thank you. I do hope it doesn't come to that." 

"You no more so than I," Max replied. 

"However, you'll be on a sort of probation period until we're absolutely sure we can trust you." 

"No problem." 

"One last thing: you were deliberately vague in your explanation of what happened after Galatea was destroyed. Why?" 

"Everybody has their secrets, Sylia. Even though I trusted you enough to tell you my story, it doesn't mean I trust you enough to give you all the details. Yet." 

"Very well." Sylia sighed. "However, choosing not to tell us everything will extend your probation period." 

"Heh, no skin off my ass, really. Maybe I'll consider it if you cough up all your secrets." Max smirked when Sylia flinched in surprise, then continued before she could respond verbally. "So what say we go back down and see how the others are doing, eh?"  
  
* * * *  
  


"If you knew he was a Boomer, why'd you trust him?" 

Sylvie sighed and took a sip of her tea, mulling over Linna's question. 

"Because I didn't know what kind of Boomer he is. I still don't, really. And after he protected me on Genaros, I didn't have any reason not to trust him." 

"Protected you?" Priss asked, suddenly interested. 

"A couple of men were hanging around the area where Max was hiding. When I came by to check up on Max, they accosted me and tried to force me to..." Sylvie hesitated a moment and lowered her head, finishing her sentence in a low voice, "to service them." 

"What?!" 

Sylvie looked up at the unanimous exclamation to see the other four occupants of the room staring at her in shock. 

"Those pigs!" Priss snarled. 

"I can't believe someone would be sick enough to do something like that!" Nene added. 

"Then you need to grow up. Scum like those two bastards is all too common." 

Everyone turned to see Sylia and Max walk into the room. Sylia returned to the chair she'd been sitting in previously as Max leaned against the wall in the corner next to Sylvie. 

"Just wait 'til you hear what happened to those two bastards." 

After glancing at Max and seeing his almost imperceptible nod, Sylvie continued. 

"Before they could really do anything, Max showed up. He either saw what was going on or heard them speaking. He didn't even give them a warning before he attacked. One of the men had a prosthetic arm. Max ripped it off and beat them unconscious with it. Then he threw them down the street. They landed nearly a hundred meters away. I... I don't know whether or not they survived." 

The Knight Sabers looked over at Max to see him scratching at something on the back on one hand with the other. When he felt their gazes on him, he looked around almost cluelessly. 

"What?" Max asked innocently. 

"What do you mean what?" Linna asked. "Don't you care that you may have killed those two men?" 

"For your information, that was over a month ago. Also, those two bastards were trying to rape the first person to show me any kindness since I came here just because they thought they were better than us." 

"Us?" Sylia suddenly cut in. 

"Yeah... us." Max chuckled nervously. "I was a vagabond up there and Sylvie was... one of the bottom rung workers. Heh, heh." 

"It's alright, Max." Sylvie sighed, placing her cup on the table before her. "They would have found out eventually, anyway." 

"Yeah, I know. Want me to say it?" 

"Why not? It should be easier for you to say it; you've got no sense of tact." 

"Hmph. Sylvie's a 33-S Sexaroid Boomer." Max stated, then grinned evilly. "Also, just to spite her previous 'owner' - pfeh, he was a cowardly bastard if I ever saw one - Sylvie had me reprogram her to 'swing the other way.' Bet that puts a whole new spin on your relationship, eh, Priss?" 

"Ma-ax!" Sylvie growled angrily, blushing furiously and seemingly oblivious to the reactions of the room's other occupants. 

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it, sis?" Max smirked at her, inwardly chuckling at the stunned expressions on everyone's faces save Sylia. "Besides, that's something someone without tact would have done, isn't it?" 

"I will get you back for that, just you wait," Sylvie hissed, still not noticing everyone's reactions. 

Priss shook her head as if to rattle something loose and ignored Max's comment to focus on the bigger issue. 

"Sylvie... you're a... Boomer? Why didn't you tell me?" 

"How could I?" Sylvie replied, looking at the floor, refusing to meet Priss' gaze. "I... I didn't know how you'd react." 

Max glanced at Priss to see that she was paying attention to only Sylvie, who wasn't paying attention to anything, then turned his head toward Sylia and nodded toward the door. She raised an eyebrow questioningly, only to receive the same gesture accompanied by a short jerk of his thumb toward the door. 

"But... I thought you trusted me..." 

Sylia glanced at the same two women Max had, then nodded slightly in understanding. By then, Priss had walked forward to stand a few feet in front of Sylia, facing Sylvie. The leader of the Knight Sabers stood up as silently as she could, gestured for Mackie, Nene, and Linna to follow her, then followed Max toward the door. The group crept through the doorway and managed to shut the door without making enough noise to disturb the two other women. 

"I do, Priss... but I didn't know what you thought of Boomers. I didn't know if you'd try and return me to GENOM or not. I'm sorry. If you don't want anything to do with me... I'll understand." 

Silence hung heavily in the air until Sylvie felt a hand grip hers. She gasped and looked up to see Priss leaning down in front of her so they were eye level with each other, a faint smile on her lips. 

"Sylvie, I don't care if you're a Boomer or not. What hurt me was that you didn't trust me enough to tell me." Priss paused before hesitantly adding, "Outside of the Knight Sabers, you're the only friend I have." 

"Priss, I..." Sylvie stared up at Priss for a moment before turning away and pulling her hand from Priss'. "How can you be so kind to me? I'm a Boomer; nothing more than a machine! Just a goddamn machine!" 

Sylvie's head was jerked back toward Priss' face, who was now glaring angrily at the other woman from only a few inches away. 

"Don't you ever say that again!" Priss growled. "You are a person! Not a machine! Just because you came into this world a little differently than others doesn't make a damn bit of difference to me! I -" Priss paused, as if realizing what she was about to say, then continued in a softer tone. "I care about you, Sylvie." 

"Thank you, Priss..." Sylvie's voice trailed off as the two pulled each other into a tight hug.  
  
* * * *  
  


Max gently shut the door, careful not to make much sound, and turned around to see the two Stingrays, Nene, and Linna watching him. The teen sighed and leaned against the wall next to the door. 

"Just why did we have to leave the room?" Linna asked pointedly. 

"If Priss and Sylvie want you to know, they'll tell you," Max answered, then pushed off the wall and started to walk past them. 

"Where are you going?" Sylia asked. 

"Home." Max replied over his shoulder just before disappearing around a corner in the hall. "Need to tell the others we're okay and I left my cell phone back home."  
  
* * * *  
TBC...  
* * * *  
  
Author's Notes  
  


Sorry if Max's identity was too obvious in the first chapter. But I wanted people who've seen BGC 2040 to tell who he was with only moderate difficulty. C&C is welcome, flamers will be used as target practice by the Knight Sabers. 


	3. Announcement

Dear God, but I'm slow when it comes to putting out announcements, aren't I?br  
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Anyway, in case you haven't seen my profile page, I'll no longer be updating my fics on fanfiction.net. However, I've provided a link to my new website on my profile page.br  
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You can get to my site from there or by clicking here.br  
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- Raiu 


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